Prada and Unesco have jointly set up the Ocean Literacy Centre, a centre for ocean culture based on the island of San Servolo in Venice. “A centre for fostering ideas, a physical venue where people from all over the world will be able to get to know each other and develop ideas on new issues and on ocean culture,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, in charge of communication and social media at the Prada group, speaking at the centre’s opening ceremony.

The centre has been created by Prada in partnership with Unesco’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), and is part of Prada’s Sea Beyond project, active since 2019 in raising awareness among the young generations about sustainability and ocean preservation.

It has been jointly designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Unesco-IOC, and is located on San Servolo, an island in Venice’s lagoon that is home to other leading institutes, a unique example of a “transitional ecosystem” shaped by the constant interaction between land, sea and mankind. In June 2024, San Servolo hosted the first Ocean Literacy World Conference, a two-day event attended by 131 delegates from Unesco member states, who at the end of the event signed the Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action, a 10-point manifesto aimed at renewing the relationship between mankind and the oceans.

The Ocean Literacy Centre's approach is based on dialogue, accessibility and inclusivity. Its activities will be targeted at students of various ages, at local communities and citizens, researchers, and Italian and overseas tourists. The centre will adopt a diversified language, integrating contributions and perspectives from different disciplines, with the aim of stimulating visitors to think critically about their relationship with the lagoon and the ocean, so as to behave in ways that will promote a more sustainable future.